Running
by Warkitty
Summary: Always running. But from what? Lara didn't really want to know, it was probably something bad. Still in the island from hell. She hated that island with an intensity far beyond any other feeling she had felt besides maybe guilt and remorse. LaraxSam Vietnam War Tomb Raider AU. soldier!Lara doctor!Sam.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello all! This is the younger Warkitty attempting some SamxLara writing. So this is a Vietnam AU inspired by history class, be aware there will be inaccuracy- anything that you've got a problem with just PM me but please no flames. Alright as for any OoC-ness remember this fanfiction also I'm a fourteen year old american girl I'm not going to get the British slang all correct but I'll do my best to tone down the stereotypical British speech patterns. Cheerio! (get it? it's funny because i just said I wouldn't do that but I did... whatever) Thanks for reading! P.S. I could use a beta or the occasional corrective criticism also feel free to suggest stuff for the story, I have no idea where it's going :)**

Lara didn't want to die.

Especially not in such a stupid way.

But here she was concussed, bleeding out from a puncture wound in her stomach, and trapped at the bottom of a pit so obvious even Whitman her fellow specialist who was an complete and utter prat, would have noticed it.

She had promised Amanda that she would try to live past fifty but so far she was failing quite spectacularly. Hell, she had volunteered herself to the UN to be apart of the specialist unit they were organizing.

It was turning dark and she had been stuck in the same area for hours with no one coming to find her, and no memory of the day earlier. All she remembered was running from enemy soldiers, losing them after a couple miles and then getting stuck in this trap. And it was definitely one of the more uncomfortable situations Lara had been stuck in- it was hot despite the setting sun, and humid even more so than Yamatai had been, not to mention the jungle insects that attacked every inch of exposed skin.

Lara lifted the blood soaked cloth from her wound to see if its condition had improved at all, or to at least try and figure out what had stabbed her. It wasn't a bullet, the injury was too straight and thin more like a she had been speared rather than shot. No matter what had caused it, she needed medical attention or at least some sort of temporary fix until should could get help.

Groaning as she sat up against the cool dirt wall she reached over to her pack, which she had slid off a while ago to try and increase her comfort (it was a futile attempt). There was water, MREs, a length of cord, her radio, letters from home, ammo… Lara thought back to something Roth had told her about cauterizing deep wounds.

Lara had felt pain before- mental, emotional, and physical but inflicting burning pain on herself… that would be something new. She had heard of people who did these sort of things to save themselves, like amputating a hand or stabbing their own lung and she had always cringed hearing the stories (and she was not easy to gross out). Imagining imposing that kind of pain on to herself made her shiver but there was no other way.

Despite having psyched herself up for the pain it wasn't till about a half an hour later of struggling to open a bullet casing that she finally ready. Lara poured the gunpowder into the still trickling hole in her torso clenching her teeth together in pain.

For once she was glad the entire team smoked an extensive amount of cigars and cigarettes, she had lots of lighters. She grabbed one and lit up the powder.

She should've put something in her mouth to staunch the immense need to scream but it was too late and the pain was white hot as if someone had lit a firecracker in her stomach so she just bit her tongue until it bled to keep from announcing her torment to the world.

By the time the searing pain had faded her vision started turning blurry and her mind started shutting down…

xxXxx

She woke up to the sight of a dirt ceiling above and a dim flickering light to her left. She sat up gingerly holding her gently to her now bandaged wound. Lara sighed with relief, Roth must of found her and brought her back to camp-

The woman walking in to what she had assumed was the camp infirmary was not Dr. Reyes. Reyes was the only other woman in camp and had quickly become her friend because of Lara's frequent visits to the infirmary.

Instead it was a gorgeous petite Asian woman who looked to be in her twenties with luxurious locks of charcoal hair and oddly soft eyes clashing with their almost black appearance. The wide friendly smile on the girl's face making Lara almost feel guilty when she captured the woman in a headlock.

"Where the hell am I?" The Asian girl froze and dropped the clipboard she had been holding with Lara's name on it and some other medical information scrawled on the paper. Lara tried to ignore how good it felt to be holding another person especially one so pretty-

"Please don't hurt me! I'm just here to help you I'm a doctor."

Lara loosened her grip slightly frowning in confusion "Are you American?"

"Maybe if you lay back down so you don't exacerbate your stitches, I'll explain what's going on."

Relinquishing her hold on the doctor, Lara stumbled back over to the bed clutching her stomach in pain coming down from the adrenaline high that had provided her with the energy to even get up.

"Who are you? What's going on?"

"My name is Samantha Nishimura and you're in an underground facility specifically for severely injured soldiers."

"Wait what? I'm not that hurt." Lara cocked her head to the side her sluggish mind trying to comprehend this new information.

"You miss Croft have four broken ribs, two broken fingers, several lacerations that required stitches, a mild concussion, and a stab wound going all the way through that was verging on septic when they brought you in."

Shrugging Lara replied "Not the worst I've been through."

Sam raised a skeptical perfectly sculpted eyebrow "You self cauterized a wound with no anesthesia."

Lara let out a small smile "Now that hurt like bloody hell."

The doctor rolled her dark eyes and grinned back "Yeah you were unconscious for three days."

Lara's eyebrows shot up in surprise her mouth following suit in the opposite direction, making the asian girl smirk.

"Speaking of sleep, you need more rest- go back to sleep."

Lara frowned but relented and laid back onto the pillow exhaustion coursing like a drug through her veins. Sam got up and left Lara alone in the gloomily lit room to get some rest.

xxXxx

Running.

Running from what she wasn't quite sure, but she knew if it caught up something bad would happen.

Lara had been running for a while, she could tell from the sweat trickling down her neck and back underneath her torn tank top.

She was running through a jungle, a pistol on her thigh, and a hatchet on her side.

Yamatai. A nightmare island she had been stranded on with just Amanda because of a mission gone wrong.

Still running.

xxXxx

Lara woke up images of the island still burning under her eyelids making her shiver.

"Hey are you alright?" Sam asked, putting a small soft hand on Lara's less scarred and bandaged arm. Lara's mind wandered to how nice those hands would feel on her stomach-

"How long was I out?"

"A few hours until you started whimpering in your sleep. Can you remember anything from the day before you got here?"

Lara unconsciously reached to her stomach wound pressing on the bandages little and wincing.

"Nothing except for running and then getting caught in that trap."

Sitting up slightly, Lara pulled her feet back to make room for the doctor to sit on the end of her small bed.

"Do you remember your name and title?"

Lara nodded and obliged "Agent Lara Croft specialist sniper from MI-6."

"Okay, hopefully your recent memory loss will fade in a couple days, your head injury isn't too serious."

Lara nodded again in response. "How did you end up here? You don't strike me as the soldier type."

"Actually I'm not even a real doctor, I was here to film the war but then I got separated from my camera crew and was found by some soldiers who needed medical attention. So I learned quickly how to treat wounds and became a 'doctor' not like anyone cared much, the more help the better."

Memories flooded back like incomplete strips of film flickering in her mind- a grenade that Alex had jumped on top of to save the rest of them, Grimm driving a truck full of enemy soldiers and munitions over a cliff, Roth taking a hatchet to the back for her, Whitman trying to surrender and getting executed…

Lara gasped at the influx of knowledge choking back a sob. Roth was dead and so were Alex, Whitman, and Grimm, and she didn't even know what had happened to Jonah and Reyes. It was all her fault, she was the one who suggested they patrol east instead of following Whitman.

"Lara! What's wrong?" Sam asked her black eyes wide and eyebrows knit together in worry.

"Nothing. Just remembered some of what happened to my squad."

"What happened to them?" Sam prompted.

Lara shook her head solemnly "All I can remember is most of them dying."

"I'm sorry."

Lara gave the pretty Asian girl a sad smile "It's all good, can- can I be alone for a while?"

Sam nodded vigorously "Of course sweetie, take all the time you need."

The doctor exited the room leaving Lara once again in the dark nondescript room, to mourn in peace and silence.

xxXxx

Always running.

But from what?

Lara didn't really want to know, it was probably something bad.

Still in the island from hell.

She hated that island with an intensity far beyond any other feeling she had felt besides maybe guilt and remorse.

Intense was good word to describe her time there along with hellish, tortuous, grueling,

emotionally draining, soul sucking and everlasting.

Yamatai would never leave her, losing Amanda in such a painful way… it seemed that everyone around her died.

Lara kind of missed her nightmares, at least in those she didn't have time to think about what a monster she was, that pity party waiting for her when she woke. Now it was 24/7 self-deprecation and over all self hatred.

Running nonstop.

xxXxx

She got up a little more smoothly this time, less shuddering and more sighing. Alone this time Lara got to her feet noticing for the first time she was still in her torn and bloodied fatigues.

Walking out of her room Lara looked around for other people but finding only other rooms with unconscious patients in them.

"Can I help you?"

Lara whipped around wildly, fists up and ready to attack any threat and then relaxed when it was just Sam.

"Sorry I was just looking for some food and possibly less raggedy clothes."

Sam gave her a smile and grabbed Lara's calloused hand with her own. "Follow me, I'll take you to the showers and get you cleaned up and then go to the mess hall."

On the way through the winding underground tunnels Lara studied her doctor and her very un-doctor-ish apparel. A rainbow tye-dye t-shirt and tight blue jeans (making her ass look great-) clashing with Lara's militaristic clothing.

Lara's eyes lingered on Sam's legs a little too long. "See something you like?" Sam asked smirking at a now blushing Lara. Lara ignored the comment not wanting to discuss her taboo attraction to girls with a stranger.

Sam stopped in front of a door most likely leading to the showers "Here we are, you get cleaned up and I'll grab you some fresh clothes."

The door squeaked open the hinges crying out for lubrication revealing a fairly large room with multiple stalls and a bench running through the middle.

Sighing Lara relaxed under the hot spray wiping the grim and blood from her frame being careful with the numerous stitches and injures coating her body. She lathered her self with soap turning the water scalding in an attempt to burn away the memories associated with each injury and scar.

A few minutes later Lara stepped out of the tiny stall to find some clothes set out for her, simple cargo Capri pants and a tan tank top along with undergarments. She came out of the showering room feeling cleaner and resumed following Sam.

They entered a large cafeteria like area complete with crudely fashioned picnic tables and lunch trays for your food. Everyone quieted down and stared at Lara's war torn appearance making her shift uncomfortably.

"Hey! This is specialist Lara Croft! Now fuck off and go back to eating!" Sam yelled gesturing to Lara.

The dozens of men laughed and went back to scarfing down their measly meals. Lara muttered a small thanks to Sam and got into line behind Sam clenching her fists trying to calm her racing hated large groups of men, it reminded her of the Solarii and Mathias too much.

"You okay?" Sam asked giving Lara a worried look.

Lara nodded her head and gave a reassuring smile, grabbing her food which looked like a traditional Vietnamese dish. Sam lead her over to a less crowded table with only three men and a woman sitting at it.

"Hey guys, this is Lara if you didn't get my earlier announcement. Lara this is Steph, Winston, Alister, and Zip." Sam pointed out each one.

Steph was a young pretty blonde wearing a combination of men's army fatigue and a nurse uniform. Winston looked to be in his fifties with grey balding hair covered by a standard issue camouflage hat. Zip was a dark skinned man thirty something with close cut hair and had an expensive looking watch on his wrist. Alister was probably in his late twenties wearing glasses but still looking kind of macho in a nerdy way, like Alex.

Lara's hand started drifting unconsciously to the empty holster on her thigh, anxiety starting to cloud her rationality. Sitting next to Sam, she stabbed at her plate and placed the food to in her mouth chewing mechanically.

Lara's eyes darted around the large area analyzing what objects could be used for cover or which man to kill first. Perhaps the broad shouldered Hispanic man to her left? Or maybe one of the men behind her catching them by surprise.

"So what are you a nurse or a camera person?" Steph questions at Lara snapping her out of her dark thoughts.

"Specialist, sent by the UN." Everyone but Sam gaped at her.

"Wait, so you're a soldier?" Alister asked looking incredibly surprised that woman would be allowed to fight.

"Just as much as you, if not more." Lara responded slightly offended at the sheer shock in his voice.

"What do you specialize in?" The dark skinned man across from her asked.

"I'm a long ranged marksman or in better terms a sniper, but I also am skilled at hand to hand combat and any form of stealth mission." Another round of surprised gasped.

More question were shot at her rapid fire but Lara wasn't paying attention, instead she was watching a man out of the corner of her eye coming at her very fast. Lara practically leaped from her seat and grabbed the offending man putting the steak knife she had been using to eat against his throat.

"Lara sweetie let the man go, you're safe." Sam said placing a hand gingerly on Lara's shoulder.

The man froze hands up in surrender waiting for her to slit his throat. The rooms screaming silence put Lara even more on edge. She so badly wanted to kill the man for whatever crimes he may or may not have committed. A war raged in her mind on whether to end this man's life, Lara's savage more instinctual side forged by Yamatai against everything she stood and fought for- her morals.

Lara growled in frustration when a hand slowly retracted the knife from her hand. With a small tug Sam pulled her back from the man her scent relaxing Lara, spices and vanilla contradictory to the war zone they were in.

Oh god… what had she done?

Lara fled from the room not wanting to see the fear in everyone's eyes caused by the monster that was her.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again! Next chapter up. Thank you for following/favoriting but reviews are lovely too :)**

Her sides burned making her feel as if she was going through spontaneous combustion, broken ribs not adequate for running. Lara had been trained to kill by MI-6 but those skilled had been perfected by Yamatai. Shame and guilt flooded her body almost as potent as the pain radiating from her cracked ribs.

Lara tried so hard to go back to normal, it had been a year since that island since she watched Amanda die- she shouted in anguish and punched the dirt wall. It left a satisfying dent and a new bruise across her already bloodied knuckles.

She sighed and curled up on the cot kicking off her boots and rolling to face the wall. Lara was wolf wearing sheep's clothing, a caged beast always a second away from breaking out and killing it's prey. And everyone was her prey whether they had wronged her or not, that was proved by what just happened in the mess hall.

Yamatai, an island full of crazy motherfuckers maybe she should have stayed there Lara thought darkly, she did fit in with the other murderers. Still brooding Lara heard someone who could only had been Sam enter as silently as possible.

"Lara, what- what happened to you out there?" Sam asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lara chuckled darkly "Nothing, it's all happening up here." She tapped the side of her skull.

"What made you like this?"

Another long low laugh emerged from her slightly chapped lips "Lots of things, Sam, too many to count- all I know is that I'm practically a killing machine."

Death was the only constant in her life, that and guilt.

Sam shook her head "It's not your fault, I'll help you get through this."

Her eyes brows converged in the middle with complete and utter confusion "Why aren't you scared of me? I almost killed that man just for getting near me."

She shrugged in response "It's my job to help people, what you're suffering through is an ailment and as a doctor I have to do all I can to help."

An even deeper expression of confusion etched itself on to Lara's face "I could kill you without even meaning to, what's wrong with you?"

A bright smile appeared from nowhere one Sam's face, making Lara want to smile back the other girl's enthusiasm contagious "Maybe we're both a little crazy. Now get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow."

xxXxx

Arms pumping, instead of her ribs burning it was her legs- she must have been running a while.

She was still on Yamatai or at least in her mind, Lara didn't think she would ever leave. At least it was day, the island was so much more twisted at night feeding on her natural fear of the darkness.

Her breath came out in fast pants sucking in oxygen as quickly as she was dispensing carbon dioxide, not that it did much to satisfy her lungs but she couldn't stop. The air tasted humid and metallic probably from blood- the blood of what Lara didn't want to know.

Lara's knees started to ache, was that possible in a dream? Or was it memory? She wasn't sure anymore.

xxXxx

Her sleep wasn't restful anymore but at least she wasn't thrashing around anymore or screaming. Lara would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed when she woke and Sam was absent, she had grown accustomed to the loud American.

This underground thing was starting to get to Lara- the lack of ability to tell time, the smell of dirt 24/7, and the overall feeling of claustrophobia. She could have been asleep for an hour or an entire day, damn underground.

"Hey I brought you some food, you slept through breakfast."

Lara started for a moment and then relaxed when she realized it was only Sam. "Thank you." She responded curtly feeling slightly awkward about her impromptu break down yesterday.

Sam handed her the tray and Lara scarfed it down not even taking time to see what it was she was so hungry.

"Try not to choke, I've already saved your life once."

A chuckle passed through her lips and as she finished the tray of food and downed the glass of more or less clean water.

"I'll keep that in mind, I assume you're here for something other than chatting?"

"Yeah, I've got to change your bandages. Is that alright?"

Lara gave a curt nod and tugged her tank top over her head and stood up so Sam could peel off the blood soaked bandages. Sam looked Lara over her eyes trailing her torso and arms which had more bandages then skin showing. Lara became a little self conscious knowing how ugly her scars were.

"Got to dig a chick with abs." Sam muttered surprising Lara and making her blush.

Before she could respond to the more than suggestive comment Sam started to unwrap the largest of the wounds making Lara hiss loudly.

"Sorry, it'll be done soon."

Sam's comforting words became muted the pain becoming unbearable, Lara closed her eyes in an attempt to at least focus on something else beside the white hot flames flickering up from the stab wound in her stomach.

"Almost done, just a sec."

She tuned back into the world after about five minutes of torturous agony.

"I'd almost forgotten how much more healing hurt than actually getting the injury."

Sam made an unladylike snort at the comment finally done wrapping her back up. Lara sat back down and pulled on the tan colored tank top wincing as in grazed multiple tender wounds.

"So what now?" Lara asked looking up at Sam.

"I guess you could help me on my rounds, just follow my lead."

After a few minutes of walking down nondescript dirt hallways they arrived in a large area filled with many replicas of the cot Lara was currently using as her bed. Each one was occupied with a soldier with varying degrees of injury, some missing arms and legs other wrapped in bandages from head to toe. In fact the only common factor between all the soldiers was their lack of consciousness whether that was by choice, Lara couldn't tell.

"Coma ward? Or just people you finally shut up?"

"Finally shut up, screaming newbies are on the opposite end, closer to the entrance."

Lara laughed a little at the dark situation they were in, Sam a news reporter who had probably never seen a dead body before the war and Lara an agent who had seen too many.

"So how can I help?"

"Well…um, I guess you can help me change bandages and give the lucid ones breakfast."

They got to work Lara starting on one side of the room and Sam on the other, checking each wound for infection and then re-wrapping it. Some of the men waking up and talking at her others staring blankly at her either in too much pain or couldn't speak because of their injury.

"Howdy pretty lady, what's a girly like you doing over here?" A southern man twanged at her, his thick accent making her take a moment to decipher what he said. She looked at the blonde middle aged man's chart to find his name.

"Good morning Private Jacobs, how are you feeling?" Lara responded not in the mode for explaining that she was in fact a soldier.

"Mighty fine, though I do kinda' miss my arm."

She moved on to the next man, a John Doe so badly disfigured from a fire that he was unidentifiable, his tags melted to his skin. Lara thanked god that he was in a coma, the amount pain he would go through once he woke- the thought of it made Lara shudder.

Hours later they were done, fatigued from so much work.

"I have a new appreciation for medical staff, damn that was a lot of work."

Sam laughed lightly and wiped the small sheen of sweat from her forehead, small rivulets of sweat tracing down her face and neck. Lara suddenly was overcome with the strong desire to follow those droplets with her tongue-

"Yeah it's hard work, let's go eat."

The smile fell from Lara face and she started to fidget.

"Do you think you could maybe grab my food for me? It's just I don't think it would be a good idea-" Sam cut her off.

"Of course sweetie, I'll met you in your room."

xxXxx

Lara waited on her bed for Sam her mind wandering from Sam to Amanda. She missed her so much, it was so lonely without the beautiful blonde by her side- they had been a team before Yamatai had taken that away too.

Amanda had pleaded with her to retire to a desk job after she had been shot for the second time but she had refused and now Amanda was dead because of her…

The Solarii.

Mathias.

Himako.

Yamatai.

All of these things images etched themselves into her eyelids burning pain and guilt and fury associated with each one.

Amanda dying.

Roth dying.

Alex dying.

Grimm dying.

That was the only constant in her life, her ever present companion but never her friend. If Death were her friend he would pity her and take her life. If Death were merciful he would have taken her in place of any of the above people, but no she must suffer on each day getting heavier and heavier.

xxXxx

Bloody fucking hell.

She was sick of running.

Being conscious 24/7 of everything she had done wrong sucked. Lara couldn't even find refuge in dreams from her memories.

Fucking running.

xxXxx

Someone shook her awake.

Mathias. The Solarii. Yamatai.

Lara grabbed the person by the neck before she had even opened her eyes, grinning at the choking noise coming out of the figures mouth. But this person was small, nothing like the burly Russian Solarii men, almost woman sized…

Dropping Sam, Lara scrambled backwards as far as she could as if space would somehow provide her camouflage from guilt that was swallowing her whole as she watched Sam fall to her knees coughing the color returning to her face.

Lara started to tremble and curl up into a fetal position, shaking worse than a drug addict going cold turkey.

Dead Solarii men.

Dead Mathias.

All murdered by her with glee, slitting their throats as they begged for mercy. Mathias was right when he said she was the same as them, just another killing machine.

"Lara, it's okay." She felt a small hand on her shoulder, Sam's voice hoarse from her windpipe being crushed.

She had smiled while she had crushed the air from her lungs, how could it be okay?

"Lara sweetie, look at me."

Lara looked up at Sam her eyes immediately honing in on the bruises made by her hands around that beautiful neck.

"I'm sorry." Lara croaked out. "So sorry."

**A/N: And scene! Dramatic right? Sorry it was a little bit short.**

**Riddle of the Day: What stays in a corner but travels the world?**

**First to respond correctly gets a shot out and ask for a one-shot of their choice (keep it T rated).**

**:)**


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